Meet Ryden


The newest member of the Garbooth family has made his existence known more than ever this week. Reaching a new height of awareness, not only has he performed well in ultrasounds but is starting to thrash a storm and ready to expend new energy with his new little body. We are excited to have him on board and by shaping the path of our lives from here on in, let us reminisce of past Friday.I was as anxious as ever, having dreams all night of the fateful appointment where we would finally know wether I was carrying a boy or a girl. Although a boy had been hinted at in the past, I'll admit, I had always envisioned a girl. Cam and I played upon this fantasy with a ring on a chain test and talked about people we knew whose child had been diagnosed the wrong gender. I had seen myself with a baby girl since the night I had a dream about her and two weeks later I found out I was pregnant. Even with these high hopes, the possibility of a boy loomed and I was struck by that reality at the last appointment.
Going into the ultrasound, the tech immediately asked if we were interested in finding out today. Cam and I were more than enthusiastic. It maybe took the tech 30 seconds to locate the group of pixels that she clearly identified as a scrotum. I was immediately accepting of this fact and gave Cam's hand a squeeze. The burden of mystery was off our shoulders but there was little time to dwell on it as the tech took us on a tour of other features our new addition had to offer. He had what looked like a handsome profile with no trace of a cleft lip or, my worst nightmare, missing facial features. He had the right number of kidneys and chambers in his heart. She traced the main arteries which showed up on the grey screen as red and blue and all seemed to be in order due to her bird like head reactions as she gauged the screen. Along the journey, she took some adorable pictures.



little feet!

a beefy man leg complete with bones.

boy bits complete with white arrow.


and a beautiful silhouette of our protagonist! He's kinda grabbing a foot while a hand is suspended above his face. Looks like that head is going to be as big as Cams... *wince*

The session was done in no time and soon we were wisked off to talk to the doc. She had nothing to report as nothing looked awry on the charts but before she could sneak off, I had her do a quick doppler of the heartbeat so I could record it for everyone. In a couple of weeks I should be able to hear it through a stethoscope!


With no crises to panic about, my mind wandered back to how to analyze my gender preferences. After calls and celebration drinks with Kim, I had to still push myself to believe I could get along with a baby boy. My reasoning wrapped around the fact that everyone I seemed to know had a boy. Good friends, coworkers, neighbors had all produced boys. Cam had only grown up with brothers and was ready for a change to the feminine perspective. The ratio seemed unbalanced, the world off kilter. By having a girl, I could be unique, standing out with an adorable pink clad being amongst the masculinity. Barbies and bows are what I know and Thomas the Tank Engine is not what I want to get into. My little breakdown didn't last too long while Cam and I talked it through when our new little guy broke into a fit of thrusting and kicking. Within minutes, the grins on our faces couldn't be removed. Already a little attention seeker, he soothed my mind with his eagerness. And with that he was graduated up from our baby boy to little Ryden. He told us we needed to buck up and stop whimpering and that he needed a double of mango juice asap. So wise for his years. Our little bub.


The next day I felt like the new chapter had begun. My life has been chartered and I'm pretty excited to get going. Quitting my job will be sad but giving Ryden the best start in life and staying home for a year or two will be ultra fulfilling. His room is coming together nicely with the new crib from Grandpa R and matching changing table that I picked up today. Despite that paper lanterns and paper crane mobiles sounds a little girly, I'm putting them together anyway because Ryden will like them regardless. He will need just a couple of more things to get him up to speed so I have put a registry together here. Many small things are playful and suggestive and I have collaborated a lot of sites together here so registries may not be at all sites visited.





Posted in: on May 23, 2010 at at 3:18:00 PM 1 comments  

Memory

The child walked up to his mother and asked "Mommy? Did I used to live in your belly?"

Startled, the mother said "Yes sweetie, you certainly did. Do you remember that?" The child contemplated and then nodded.
"Yes, it was really dark and I was curled up reeaal tight, like this." With that, the child brought his fists up to his small face and crouched in a ball. Becoming a bit more alarmed, the mother asked if he had been comfortable there. The child replied, "Yes, it was ok but there was something poking me." The intense memory of displacing a rib rushed back to the Mother's memory just as the child added, "and there was something loud always behind me." During the pregnancy, the baby had his head facing downwards as the Mother's heart was always beating over his back.
Suddenly, the child gasped "Mommy! Did I hurt you?" and with tears rolling down her face the Mother hugged her son to her tightly.
"Yes dear, you hurt me"
"It hurt me too, Mommy," the child said through her hair.

-Conversation with Lee Ann about an account between her friend and her four year old.

Posted in: on May 10, 2010 at at 11:52:00 AM 0 comments  

17 weeks 4 days

Just a regular appointment today... kinda.


I was a bit anxious about this one. In the last couple of days, I've been concerned that my clinic wasn't really meeting the bar when it came to client service standards. According to a few people who are either expecting or have already given birth, my clinic seems sub-par. Being draped with attention isn't what I demand, but neither do I want to just be treated as a number as I felt yesterday when calling my clinic hoping to get an answer about a mild twang of pain in my lower abdomen. The receptionist answered and as I expected, informed me that a nurse would pull my file and call me back with an answer to my query. I wasn't satisfied with this answer as I had just stepped out of work in order to make the call. Waiting for a call back could take a matter of a minutes to half an hour depending on the rush of calls that they were having and my call would be would be attended to in the order it was received. Being put on hold wasn't an option and the receptionist was not qualified to make an opinion. Annoyed, I didn't leave a message but hung up. I had an appointment the next day and it wasn't urgent. I had just wanted to test the waters of the system and found the results tepid. I just want to be able to call when the matter IS urgent and to speak to someone immediately who can help.

After a fretful night of thinking I was going to walk into my appointment and lose my temper, I thankfully found the whole experience refreshingly communicative. I was thrilled to actually speak to my OB, as opposed to the nurse, who reset my expectations of how the office works. She would never be available to speak to me over the phone unfortunately as she is helping patients all day long. In an urgent situation, my call is bumped to priority and as there are only one or two nurses in this small clinic, they would call me back asap or page the nearest doctor if the case turned out I was giving birth. My OB is the type who is always leaning toward the door unless you can throw another lasso of questions at her so I made sure to quickly verify that she would be able to make it to the hospital when I go into labor. In reply, she explained that within the clinic network was a group of doctors who responded to the page if she was out or off duty. If she was not present for the actual delivery, someone responsible and dependent would be. I understand why the process needs to be done this way, and it has been successful, no doubt, in dozens of instances. However, perhaps the American in me, was expecting to get her cell number from day one so we could be best friends and she could listen to every pregnancy woe I could bray. In the real world, if you want to have your baby in a hospital with insurance, you follow the protocol. In other cases, like a friend of mine who's having a home birth, the personal attention level between her and her midwife will greatly differ from my experience. My friend and this woman are no doubt getting to know each other on a much more personal level. I've chosen my path and others will choose theirs and I should just consider myself damn lucky for having insurance at all with a house to go home to and a gorgeous wonderful husband who cooks me steak for dinner. And for going through the paces of todays appointment without a hitch, with a regular heartbeat, and donating a pint of blood for more tests that I'm sure will come out negative, no wonder I don't get any extra attention. Amen!

So just a run down of what ELSE happened at the appointment. I signed up to do the AFP (Alpha-Fetoprotein) test which is the final step in making sure the bub doesn't have Down Syndrome. Always good to know I guess. Cam and I declined the Cystic Fibrosis test which is an expensive test that may not be covered under insurance. It was explained that either of us could be a carrier of the disease without knowing it and if we were to both have it, there was a 25% chance it could be passed to the baby. It's nice to know that these tests are available but the chances of the CF test being applicable to Cam and I were a bit unrealistic. Although I didn't have an ultrasound at this appointment, the heartbeat was still audible using a small handheld doppler device. I wish they could record that sound for me so I could share it. Next appointment should be a big one though coming up in 3 weeks! The sex should be determined as well as us being able to make sure all the major organs are in the right places! Fun!

Posted in: on April 21, 2010 at at 7:07:00 PM 2 comments  

I hate food

Well, I've killed the stereotype of the pregnant wife barefoot in the kitchen. I can't stand the sight of food. But then all of the sudden if I don't have a banana, someone may get hurt if they are in my way. Luckily, with my husbands invested interest in my condition, I am suddenly presented with a spread of pork medallion, potatoes, brocolli, biscuits and gravy. If I wash it all down with glass of milk, then my aversion is suddenly set back to square one and the cycle begins again.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Fred Meyers

Posted in: on April 10, 2010 at at 8:11:00 PM 0 comments  

Moving: The Movie™



Moving day was awesome, tiring, annoying and fun all at the same time. Thanks to all our wonderful friends who pitched in and made the day go quickly... the beer was all the sweeter because of your hard work! We're now well and truly settled into our new home, although there's still much unpacking and cleaning before it truly feels "ours"!

Posted in: , , on April 4, 2010 at at 9:46:00 PM 0 comments  

A Human!

It's gettin real over here folks. Just look at this bub just laying back waiting for it's next feed. Just moochin away with the legs all stretched out floating comfortably in placenta. These images seems to show you so much if you trust the pixels you're looking at. The skull and brain are all in good form and bones are standing out more on the images than before. The heart was visibly pumping blood and the tech noted the kidneys and bladder were all up in full filter mode. Definitely has Cameron's nose I'd say...


Now it's just waving hey!


A footsie!

And cut to wide shot

Posted in: on March 28, 2010 at at 9:26:00 PM 1 comments  

Checkup 12 weeks 4 days

Pictures are coming but we still have to find our scanner in order to share them! The doctors appointment yesterday went swimmingly and Cam finally got to meet our normal OB.

First, of course, we had another ultrasound which is still very novel to us but can see how it may become a stressful practice as more detail will be noticed each visit, and discrepancies pointed out. This time, the whole fetus (as it is now officially called!) was viewable, laying on its back with the legs up. The tech pointed out that its position couldn't have been more perfect but was concerned with a particular fluid building up behind the neck. When asked what kind of fluid, she said she couldn't be sure. But meanwhile! The heart was steady, kidneys and bladder were seen and functioning, and of course, the brain seemed to look like a real brain! The tech had a guess on the sex but couldn't be completely sure until my next ultrasound which will be another 8 weeks. What she said we won't repeat so we can keep you all in suspense!
Meeting the OB went well and she did her own poke and prod exam. A vial of my blood was taken in order to perform the nucleal transparency test and Cam nearly lost it as she drew it out of me. After she answered a few of our questions and we arranged my next appointment, Cam said that "she was cute" and didn't know what my beef was. She was definitely nicer, as my tests previous had all come back negative which makes everyone's lives easier.
Afterwards, with our after-appointment-glow, we went and cleaned the old house. I was pretty exhausted after working and then going through the exam and tried to contribute the best I could. We are pretty much done with the old place and ready to hand back the keys! Can't wait to finally throw our energy into the new house which needs some big time TLC. My overacting olfactories are completely against the "new house smell" and re-cleaning it seems like the only way to diminish my opposition. More pictures of the house coming soon too! We really need to get our internet in gear so I don't have to write blogs at work :D

Edit 3/26:
Cam feels the need for me to explain the full scope of the fluid issue. The previous account states how I understood the fluid to be a concern but really all is perfectly normal. The tech needed to measure the amount of fluid as part of the nucheal trans test and too much or too little could have led to further tests to make sure that Down Syndrome was not a possibility. The blood test was a follow up to make sure that all was sound. Cam would also like to voice that the blood did not put him off. It just gushed into the test tube in a way that was unexpected and therefore a short breath was heard from his direction.

Posted in: on March 25, 2010 at at 12:07:00 PM 1 comments  

Luggin the Lime

Thats preggers talk! Check out some Cannon Beach photos when Cam girl-napped me Wednesday night to celebrate the signing for our new house!










Posted in: on March 19, 2010 at at 10:04:00 AM 0 comments  

These days things are getting interesting! Today Cam and I sign a hundred pieces of paper for our new abode! I'm feeling anxious of moving everything and accomplishing everything that I want to do to our new house. Luckily, there is no fixing up to do but there is a lot of painting in order to make it our own. Moving day is Sunday so far and we will have a few friends helping us move boxes of transformers and goods. Hopefully, I'll feel up for documenting the event, maybe with some video!

Cam has been supporting me and my mood swings a lot lately. Yesterday, I felt on top of the world but last night I felt so drained and heavy, I had to go bed barely able to eat a PB&J. Our photo shoot of my preg progress has fallen behind as I have little energy after work to get any of my million projects worked on. This morning, having nothing in my stomach I was super nauseous and caused more concern to Cam who now knows he has to force me to eat when I'm feeling my lowest. Other than that, I have forgotten for awhile that I am pregnant. I eat the same as I always have but am more conscious of eating more vegetables and better nutrients. I should be eating more than I am, but it is difficult to get past the mentality of feeling gluttonous and heavy after always feeling the need to be fit my whole life. As I begin to show more, which is very slight at the moment, this mentality should pass and I'll start to accept the whole thing.
Work hasn't changed too much and neither have people's attitudes toward me. When I first told coworkers, they would go out of their way to help me out but now it seems to have fallen out of attention. I pay slightly more attention to children than I used to but am still wary of them. They are strange and unpredictable. Cam is a child's favorite as proven when he went and hung out with a friends two year old the other day. He has also had little contact with children but really enjoyed reading to him and playing with his toys with him. The kid was a wreck when he finally had to be put down to bed and made quite the commotion.
Doctors appointment is next Wednesday so more pictures are coming! Stay tuned! Hopefully, we will work with our regularly scheduled OB and all goes well!

Posted in: on March 17, 2010 at at 9:25:00 AM 0 comments  

Tuesday


Had a great weekend entertaining long lost friend Carrie who I went to school with at Sydney Uni! I had promised her bands and booze a few months ago but the my new ordeal changed things up a bit. We galavanted all over Portland and Cam and Kim loved hearing of her round the world adventures. The timing may have been off, but good times were had and Cam and I are now working to move into our new house which closes on the 19th! Once in, then the nesting can begin... And expect a couple more updates from me now that I have this new iPhone app to help me keep the blog alive and not bother the Facebook folk with growing pains. Until next time..

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Work

Posted in: on March 2, 2010 at at 4:35:00 PM 1 comments  

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